Radio Scotland provided the Falkirk Supremo with an ideal opportunity to convince listeners that the decision to deny the Brockville outfit a Premier League place was both unfair and unjust. It was the perfect platform for Campbell Christie to provide evidence that the required criteria demanded by the SPL had been met - a chance to put real pressure on Lex Gold and his comrades. It would be an exercise which failed miserably. The turning point came when host Jim Traynor challenged Christie's claim that he had in his possession a signed document from North Lanarkshire Council giving an undertaking to the Dudley Group that Falkirk would be the preferred tenants at Airdrie's Shyberry Stadium. Traynor reminded his guest that the Council were adamant that no agreement had been reached and to imply otherwise was to question the Council's integrity. Was he, therefore, calling Councillor Jim McCabe a liar ? What followed next was a stuttering, embarrassing, less than convincing response which did nothing to further the Falkirk cause. It was a defining moment. One where an assured and confident manner was quickly replaced by hesitancy and self doubt. The gun had been loaded, the target sighted but we were left with the impression that Campbell Christie had shot himself in the foot.
Christie may have been licking his wounds, but would take comfort in the knowledge that there's always someone willing to perform surgery on behalf of him - the injured party. That someone in question was the Daily Record's Alan McMillan. Armed with pen cum scalpel, the hack spent most of his "Off The Bawl" column chastising all First Division sides for refusing to back Falkirk - suggesting that the silence from those clubs was deafening. I was immediately reminded of the old saying - "a bad journalist is just a good journalist who chooses to ignore the facts". With that point in mind, McMillan could do worse than actually ask opposing clubs for their opinion, for I'm sure the general consensus undoubtedly would be that the Bairns should have put their house in order long before now.
If the house wasn't in order, it would certainly be brought to order as Labour Party representative Denis Canavan addressed the Scottish Parliament regarding an important issue of the day. Not for him the matter of rising crime figures, hospital waiting lists or the plight of the homeless. He used his position of authority to highlight Falkirk's current situation - insisting that a team winning the league should automatically be promoted. What has the world come to when a football team unwilling to play by rules which apply to everyone else, can enlist the backing of a politician at Holyrood. Don't be surprised if the next bill proposed by the MP for Falkirk West allows dole cheats to claim benefits while working a sixty hour week. Yet Canavan's sentiments did not go un-noticed, for they were echoed by a caller the following day on Real radio's football phone in.
The caller bemoaned the fact that certain clubs including Dundee United, Motherwell and Partick voted accordingly to save their own skins - a view shared by programme host Bill Young and Panellists Alan Rough and Richard Gough. To further confuse matters, all four agreed that Motherwell should be relegated regardless of whether Falkirk gain promotion or not. Now I'm no expert, but when was short term memory loss confined only to Falkirk sympathisers ? I don't recall any media personality clamouring for the Bairns to drop down a Division when they finished second bottom of the league over a year ago. I suppose the only consolation is that the outbreak of short term memory loss means everyone will have forgotten about Falkirk's promotion bid this time next season. What won't be forgotten - as the Radio phone-in proved - is that the underlying theory surrounding Falkirk's promotion failure - seems to be one of conspiracy, surprising really when you consider that St Mirren, Dunfermline, Livingston and Partick have all moved up in recent years. However, promotion came at a price and has only served to strengthen the resolve of the aforementioned clubs who don't see why the Bairns should benefit from a relaxation of the rules - an option which wasn't available prior to this year. When will callers like the guy in question realise that Thistle would still have voted against Falkirk even if John Lambie had miraculously guided the Jags to the Premier League title. The issue, as far as Partick are concerned, is not about self preservation, it's one of principle. That's why there is no conspiracy, no hidden agenda, no victimisation, and no closed shop. In fact, you could argue that the SPL have bent over backwards to accommodate Falkirk by allowing them an extension to the March 31st deadline and even more time beyond that to put together a ground-sharing package. Still, why let the facts get in the way of a so called hard luck story ?
Hats off then to Chick Young, who appeared as a voice in the wilderness when writing in his newspaper column last week. Although sympathising with players and supporters, he believed the SPL were correct in refusing Falkirk admission to the Premier League. Like Chick, I certainly agree that players and fans deserved better yet I wonder if the Falkirk faithful will ever see the situation from our point of view and understand why feelings run so high regarding this issue ? I suppose not.
It’s been a long week.......